Void Virtua Companion
by Leki
Summary: Rob is thrown in the Void by Gumball after a nasty fight. The remote is shattered and he can't get out. Prompt: After giving up on finding love you purchase a new virtual wife program. About a year after release a recall is issued for security issues. Unwilling to give up the companionship you have to watch as your unit becomes infected by malware and the virus slowly consumes her.


Void Virtua Companion

Leki

Prompt: After giving up on finding love, you purchase a new virtual wife program. About a year after release, a recall is issued for security issues. Unwilling to give up the companionship, you have to watch as your unit becomes infected by malware and the virus slowly consumes her.

~Author Note: Here Comes the Rain Again by Eurythmics, Realign by Godsmack and Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad by Moby came up while writing this. That's okay, I didn't need my heart.~

The Void was the loneliest place that Rob had ever known. Whenever he had been in the land of the living, he'd at least had people to distract him. Rob walked forward and sat on the edge of his house's island. There was space all the way under him, but he wasn't very afraid of falling. He'd honestly thought about jumping for days. Maybe he would just fall to his death, maybe he would just circle around in a paradox loop. Maybe he'd float, like gravity gave up once he hit a certain spot. He really had no way of knowing.

There were no distractions to keep him from thinking too much, something he'd avoided for all his adolescents. Everything here was poorly made, breaking or annoying. He'd still played with most of the stuff anyways, but most of the time he ended up sleeping. He'd heard somewhere sleeping too much was a sign of depression.

Rob stared down into the space below him, thinking of how he had been homeless in Elmore. He often had to borrow misfitting clothes from his friends. That's why he'd always been so ragtag looking, and that was why he'd been made fun of often. Ditto for his long hair thad framed his face in a girlish fashion, giving the boys another reason to pick at him. He'd had to sneak into other people's houses, especially during winter. In the summer, he had sometimes managed to sleep in the park or elsewhere that was warm. But winter, that's what had really started this whole mess. He had snuck into Gumball's house one late night, trying to get away from the snow and ice. To his delight he found out that they very, very rarely went down into the basement. His delight had quickly turned sour despite his good fortune.

All he heard was "I love you." and sickeningly sweet laughter. The fighting wasn't really fighting. It was a family aggravation that didn't last long. It was like an itch, it got scratched and was gone. The fighting didn't leave any emotional scars on them like his family had done to him. Well, before his father had taken off and his mother had fallen ill and died. His mother had always said they didn't need the father, that he had only been a donor. But that was before she had started to get really sick, and before he had been left in a house by himself. When the people had come to repossess it, he had left quietly through the back with a backpack he had prepared, and had been roaming every since.

Gumball had never had to roam. He always got to come back to his mommy, and daddy, and even his two siblings. His parents had so much love, they bothered to adopt another little boy. Gumball even got the good end of that deal. He didn't get another little boy that hated him, or was sad that he was adopted. Gumball and Darwin were always paling around.

Rob had been lonely his whole life. He'd tried to make friends, he'd tried to go to partys. He tried to talk, and shake hands and make eye contact. He tried to get phone numbers. Nobody ever stuck around him. They always went home with their favorite person that was never him. He wanted to be someone's favorite. He wanted it so badly. He had been his mother's favorite, once upon a time. But even then, he had been a mistake, an unwanted mistake. That's why his father had taken off. Rob had never meant to be. Rob shouldn't have existed. Rob wasn't loved.

The only thing that had ever been good was Teri. Teri was the paper girl in his grade. For some reason she liked him. She didn't mind his clothes, didn't mind his hair. She didn't mind that he wasn't popular, going out every night with a huddle of buddies. She didn't care about the fact that he didn't have family. In fact, she never really even mentioned it. She just acted like he was normal. And then one day, she had held his hand. That day, he had felt a warmth and acceptance he had never even known was possible. All from the touch of a hand.

Tears dripped down his face, just remembering it. Because of his own insecurities that he couldn't seem to get over, he had fought Gumball, trying to kill everybody, and Gumball had thrown him in here. Into the Void. Into Hell. Rob had tried to chase the dropped remote that could have ripped open the walls of the Void and could have gotten him out of this mess. He had personally seen it get crushed between two huge floating piles of trash. Buttons, gears, wiring and shattered casing had drifted apart before his eyes.

Because of his insecurities, he would never see Teri again. Instead of focusing on the good, he had focused on the bad. He had started a fight, and he had lost. He had paid dearly for allowing himself to wallow in his emotions.

Rob slipped off the side of the island, and fell down into the void. He did fall for awhile, but then he just seems to start slowing down, and then he was floating. Rob stretched out like he was laying down, and looked upwards through his tears.

He wondered how long it would take him to die. He had heard that creatures could die of loneliness. He hugged himself, squeezing. His touch was not the same as Teri's touch.

Rob floated for a very long time. He slept for awhile, woke up, went back to sleep. He felt so numb. When his feelings started to resurface, he curled into a ball and sighed. He looked up, and stared around himself. He uncurled quickly, kicking a floating stone so he launched himself towards the nearest platform. Halfway to the platform, a big black box floated into view. He was about to push it aside in annoyance before he saw the big advertisement sticker slapped on it. It showed a cutesy Asian girl on the front with thick blond pig tails sticking out both sides of her head. She wore a black dress and lots of cute heart accessories.

The title promised: "Something missing in your life? Try love! Virtua Companion!" Below the caption was the figure of the Asian woman. She was holding out her hand low, to the side, with the other on her hip. Her held out hand acted like a platform for the little squares that held pictures. One picture was of a loving wife, putting on her husband's jacket. One was of a cutesy little brunette model, holding another child's hand. A sister type. There was an older woman, with a man's head in her lap. Motherly type. He stared at the pictures.

Maybe he could have Teri back.

Rob grasped the packaging tightly in his arms. He curled around it as if he was going to lose it. When he hit the platform, his hand gripped the side tightly and he started to climb. Oddly, having purpose and forcing himself to climb seemed to reassert gravity. He felt its weight as he climbed, but he didn't care. He made it to the top with his package.

Rob didn't see his old house, but he guessed it didn't matter. Since his body had been broken, he really didn't need to eat anymore, so he didn't need his supplies. He mostly just ate to keep his hands and mind busy. Boredom eating, really. He used to be happy about just having food to feel full, and now it felt like it was there to keep his mind busy.

It wasn't a minute before he was sitting on the platform and ripping the box open. He started digging into the white crumbly packaging, ripping it apart and pulling away the plastic air bags. He wasn't very pleased to see a tan, naked mannequin slip out of the packaging. It's face was devoid of features and it had no fingers. Rob ignored the his distaste and instead scattered the packaging. The instruction booklet was laying under some foamy bits. He sat crossed legged on the ground, and started learning about how to reanimate Teri.

He found out that there was something he'd been missing. He rummaged into the packaging until he found a cardboard box. He gently opened this part, realizing that this was the key to his model. It was a sleek, golden torc. The torc had long lines in it, and little golden orbs at each end. At the ends of the orbs were chains and clasps, like a necklace would have had. With a dry throat, Rob set the mannequin up so it was sitting. Awkwardly he held her up while slipping the torc around her neck. He snapped the clasp on the back. Glancing down at the instructions, Rob got excited, but realized he'd skipped a step. He dug back into the box and pulled out another cardboard box. With this one opened, a little touch tablet fell out. It was made of a cheap plastic, but when he pushed the power button the screen came on.

Rob had to wait for his eyes to clear of tears, and that was hard, waiting just so he could see the screen. Power On. He pressed that option. The little torc began to vibrate. Looking down at the instructions, Rob reached up to twist one of the little orbs. The torc glowed briefly. The body of the mannequin started to flesh out before his eyes. It still didn't have full fingers, more like stumps, but it had more mass, and some curves. Shakily, he twisted the other orb. He watched the smoothed out mannequin face started to appear real. Pits for the eyes, little lines for the lips plumped out, ears came out the sides. It was a goddamn face. Tears welled up again as he looked into the face of the Asian girl from the sticker.

It wasn't Teri, but it soon would be. This model wasn't flat like her paper body, but she would be the best he could make. He sat in front of the tablet and started pressing options. He started messing with her hair color and style first. White, in little buns on top of the head. Her very distinct outline appearing on the form of the machine made him feel warm inside. He gave her dark brown eyes, and a cute little button nose. Her face he immediately gave a little cute smile. Her face was so adorable. He gave her a short, summery dress and tennis shoes. He remembered suddenly why she had never worn sandals. Teri had always been afraid of catching something from the street that managed to get into her foot and stab her. She's always been afraid of sicknesses and "health disasters", as she called them.

Rob kept tweaking her, wanting to get her perfect. Whenever her got her right, he looked around for a personality menu. He was sad to see that there was a button for such a thing. It was at the bottom right, promising the Ultra Perfect Personality... for a fee of $2,000, or the very easy three payments for $700 over three months. Well, he'd never started off with everything in life, and there was no reason to think that he would be getting it now. He had four base personality types to choose from: Girlfriend, Wife, Mother, Sister. He chose girlfriend. With tense muscles and a deep sigh, he pressed IGNITE.

The first thing that Teri did was smile so widely at him that she showed teeth and hold out her arms.

"Welcome back!" Her voice wasn't Teri's, but it was feminine, and she was holding her arms out to him. Rob scooted forward on his knees and knelt down so his face was in her lap, his arms around her waist.

"Welcome back, Teri." Rob said in a quiet voice. Teri didn't move much, but that was okay, "Teri?"

"Yes?" She asked.

"My name is Rob." He said, a little louder so she could hear clearly.

"Say again please." She requested.

"Rob." He said. When he said his name, her eyes froze. She was recording his name apparently.

"Yes, hello Rob. Would you like anything, sweetie?" She asked. Tears coursed down his face. Rob had always called her sweetie. Teri had always called him Robbie.

"Yes, sweetie. Can you rock me?"

"I think I can manage that!" Teri said, and then he was being gently rocked. That was how Rob spent the night; stretched out on a platform with his upper body being rocked by Teri. Teri did not stop all night. Rob thought it was the best sleep he'd gotten in a long time.

"Okay Teri, let's take a walk." He said when he woke up. Teri stopped rocking him, and he stood up. He held out his hands and she took his and used them to pull herself up. Rob's smile broadened as he looked at her face.

"I wonder if I can make you blush like I used to." Rob smiled and planted a kiss on her nose. Teri did not blush, but she did smile. Rob's face softened and he put his head against her's, forgetting about his walk. He stood like that for several minutes, breathing easily. Teri made no move to touch him, but at least she didn't pull away. He leaned against her, smelling her deeply. He hoped to find some other kind of scent. She smelled like rubber.

"Come on, baby." Rob said and turned.

The next few weeks were heaven to him. Teri walked with him all the time as they held hands. He found out that she really couldn't play any of the games that were floating around besides Checkers and Chess. She just wasn't programmed that way. So he made do with walking with her. He held her, and had her hold him. He carried her as he desired. More often than not he just laid on the platform with her and had her hold him. During this time, he didn't even really look into the void. He didn't notice the empty space that was all around him.

The first little flicker, he thought came rom the Void. The Void basically messed up everything at some point. When he was holding her in his lap with her back to his stomach and his chin on her head, her body stiffened. When he tried to talk to her, she didn't answer. By the time he was about ready to turn her around and have a look at her, Teri's face was turning to his with a smile and asking:

"What's wrong honey? Don't you want to cuddle anymore?" She asked. Rob smiled in relief.

"Of course I do!" Rob went back to what he was doing and put his chin on top of her head.

The next glitch had been when they were walking on a particularly sandy area. Rob called it Beach City. The sand was really more rocks than sand, but it was sand. He ignored the fact that there was no water, and took Teri out for a walk, holding her hand. Teri's leg gave out, and the only reason that she didn't end up in the sand was due to him holding her up. He picked her up, and didn't let her walk until they got home. His heart was thundering as he sat her down gently. She managed to stand, but Rob decided that was enough for the day. They went to bed early, laying on pallets and some ugly colored sweaters and coats.

The third just about stopped Rob's heart. They were playing a little playful game. Teri wasn't able to run, but she could walk quickly. Rob would chase after her, or her him, blowing kisses and telling her how he was going to catch her. Teri would giggle and wave at him. This was the closest Teri was able to be playful. At one of these points, her eyes grew glassy, like when she was recording a voice or when he was updating her with his preferences. This time she was doing neither. Her body locked up like she was stiff and she looked forward, away from him.

"Teri?" He called, anxiety flashing in him. Teri did not answer. Her arms dropped, and she started walking forward mechanically. Eventually one leg just stuck down awkwardly, apparently stuck, and the other leg kept walking her towards the edge of the island.

"TERI!" Rob screeched and ran after her. He ended up tackling her in his panic, bringing her down to the grass. They weren't even near the edge, she had really just been heading towards it, but it scared the crap out of him. For the second time since he'd had her, Rob picked her up and carried her back home. He had to go figure out why this was happening. Rob carried her to their pallet bed and laid her there to rest. He then dragged out her containment box out beside him so he could sit on the ground and watch her as he did so. Rob hadn't wanted to throw away the big box. He liked the pictures on the front. He reached inside and sorted through her packaging. That, he hadn't been able to throw away either. He really didn't know why.

Finally, he got to her little tablet. He booted it up. He did not look at her face as he did so. Whenever the tablet was on, her face went slack and her eyes turned glassy while she connected to the device. He scrolled through settings. He passed by the factory reset button, but didn't press it. There was a Troubleshooting button, but when he clicked it it just sent him through a link to a website. Of course, there was no internet here. He couldn't reach the website. Rob stared at it, feeling dismayed. He couldn't seem to find anything that would help her. He didn't want to reset her. Rob rummaged through the packaging again. The gravity was loose today, and a paper floated up out of the packing and plastic baggies.

It was a big white, plastic feeling paper. It's font was in large letters and in all caps. As he read it, he didn't realize that her packaging was floating away into the Void.

 **RECALL**

 **EXCUSE US PATRONS**

 **The Virtua Companion, Model 2.4, is being recalled for security reasons.**

 **Please bring your Model to Cincadel City or the nearest distribution center for a full reimbursement or an exchange to a different model at a equal or lower price. If wishing to obtain a more expensive model, the customer must pay the price difference.**

 **Transferal of Personality and Traits are a FREE Service.**

 **Certain Personalities and Traits may not be available or will be altered depending on the model.**

 **HAVE A NICE DAY PATRONS**

Well. That was fucking nice. It didn't matter if the service was free. He didn't have another mannequin to transfer her to. Rob switched off the power button on the tablet, and watched as Teri's face brightened and woke up to him.

"Good morning, Robbie!" She said. Tears hadn't been on his cheeks in weeks, but now there were. After nights of tinkering, he had finally managed to re-record the sound file that held his name inside her. He had changed it from Rob to Robbie, like her nickname for him. She only had the capacity for his name file and nickname file, which was sweetie.

Why was their time so short? Why? His time with the first Teri had already been terribly short. Why did his time with Fake Teri also have to be short? Rob had lost most sense of time here, but if he had to guess, only about half a year had passed. He had scratched a tally in wall every time he woke up. Rob laid down on the platform.

"Teri. Can you rock me?" He said in a soft voice. Teri smiled brightly and inched closer, holding her arms out.

"Of course, Robbie!" She said brightly. He had to scoot up so his head was in her lap. He spent that night telling her how much he loved her and that he was sorry for how his hatred and rivalry had ruled his actions. He said that he was sorry that he could not get to spend more time with her. After he had said all he could think to say, he ended up laying there quietly thinking about the reset button. He was really afraid that if he turned her off, he wouldn't be able to restart her. She was already breaking. What if she wouldn't wake up? He decided he didn't want to restart her and risk losing all of her. After all, if she was just partially hurt, he could take care of her. He doubted he would be lucky enough to find a second model and restart her into his life for a second time.

As the next few months went past, more and more of her seemed to break. Her fingers couldn't grip anything. They had already been weak before, just enough to squeeze his hand. Now she couldn't do that. Her fingers stayed slack. Next was her leg number one. Her right leg dragged behind her like a useless stump. The next leg took all of her weight and all the toll, and it was next to go. Rob ended up carrying her anywhere. He really didn't mind. He did that even when she hadn't been breaking down. Her hair went next. He guessed the torc was wearing out. Her hair slowly dissolved back into the mannequin. It was like she was bald, but at least her eyes were still there, looking at him. Her arms were after that. She couldn't put her arms around him or hold him anymore. If he wanted to be held, he had to move her arms for her and put them around himself. Instead, he took to hugging her fiercely in his arms every night.

The two most heartbreaking pieces were next. Her mouth lost it's smile. She couldn't smile at him anymore, or form words. She quiet tried talking, instead only making a humming, garbled noise. He listened to her, nodding his head and talking to her and squeezed her limp hands. Her eyes went after the rest of her voice. First, her pretty brown eyes went blank, and then dull. The shine left them completely. And then the sculpture of her face started to sink into the mannequin. He was holding a half formed doll. When he had started her up, she had only bore a passing resemblance to Teri. That was the best the model had to offer. Now she was nothing, a base model for anything. Rob couldn't let go of it, and he sat there for a full day. Near the end of his day, or what he considered his day, the whole thing just gave out. All her curves and limbs just withdrew to the center. They didn't even make it all the way in. She was left with four stumps sticking out of the torso. Rob held it, staring at it, tears dripping onto it.

Rob hadn't believed that he could have been lonelier than he had been, and he was wrong. Being homeless, and losing Teri the first time. This somehow did not compare. He was left alone, shaking and sitting on the island. He thought vaguely that it had been hope that had brought him so low. Although he hadn't found a way out, he had found a way to not be alone, just possibly. That method had failed, and he was utterly, truly alone. That first time, when he had lost the real Teri, he had been so angry at Gumball that it had buffered some of the pain. He hadn't realized just how much he had lost at that point. That day, Rob couldn't quit crying. Every time he tried to go to sleep to forget his emotions, he just woke himself back up with a sob. Over these nights, he kept trying her reset switch. She never even hummed, or moved, or anything. Eventually, the tablet wouldn't even come on, so he kept trying to the power button on it's side.

One day he just quit trying the button and ended up sitting on the edge of the island. He didn't know where to go from there.


End file.
